


Withered

by IvoryCrow



Series: The Flowers in her Hair [1]
Category: League of Legends
Genre: A mix of the old lore and new, Angst, F/F, Hanahaki Disease
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-28
Updated: 2019-09-28
Packaged: 2020-10-30 04:57:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20808905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IvoryCrow/pseuds/IvoryCrow
Summary: Leona's eyes dance as she tugs at her shoulder pad. “The Solari do say you are much more curious than other young scholars.” She says, and Diana flushes pink but says nothing. Leona’s smile turns bittersweet as she looks out towards the fields, “I will fail the Rites tomorrow.”Diana can’t breathe. The petals press hard against throat and she bites her cheek until she can only taste copper, “If you refuse to fight, you will die.”Leona leans forward, brushing back some of Diana’s hair. Her expression softens but Leona looks more tired than anything else.“You and I are not so different, are we?”





	Withered

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this in my WIPs for years. It's based a bit on the old lore and the new. 
> 
> Anyways, I love these sad warriors :( I'm a sucker for Sun and Moon dynamics. Leona and Diana just add that extra angst to it.

Diana traveled with her mentor to the tribes of Mount Targon from a young age. Rakkor was her favorite for the sunflowers that were bore across their fields where their warriors trained. Pantheon and Leona brawled in the flowers as Diana glanced at them from the corner of her eye. Occasionally, other warriors joined but none could best Leona. 

She knew of her first. When the Solari adopted her as one of their own, she consumed every book their library offered. Everything from the sun to the moon and Leona of the Rakkor was clearly everything a daughter of Mount Targon was meant to be. A lioness with a claim to the Sun. Diana volunteered for every caravan to catch a glimpse of her Sun.

Though they’ve never truly spoke more than a few words, Leona has always been kind. Where other Rakkor are not interested, and even dismissive, in the Solari’s way - Leona is different. Even as she got older, she continued to ask the scholars about their tonics and the temple, she brought sweets for the younger children, and she always smiled. Diana does not realize the extent of her feelings until she felt the petals in her throat scratch at the sides and her lungs tightened. The cough forced itself out and she hid the yellow petals of the sunflower against her chest. Leona even gifted her a small cloth once, after a particularly large petal blocked her airway. It was terribly stitched with small suns and moons. 

There were many whispers of who would be the champion of Rakkor, most of which hinted at Pantheon. A strong warrior with blood-lust in his veins. But behind closed doors, there were whispers of another. The woman with sun-kissed hair and amber eyes. Diana would have bet everything she had on Leona. But because she had nothing, except books and scrolls that would paint her a heretic hidden in her room, she stayed silent. She dared not call more attention than she already with her paling complexion and silver hair. 

☀

Leona confessed a secret the first time they truly meet on their own terms. She did not expect to find the warrior sitting at her own usual spot among the sunflowers. She had no time to disappear as Leona turns towards her. 

“Diana?” The voice is as warm as the sun and Diana swallows, “Yes, my Lady?” 

“Please, Leona is fine.” She smiled, sunshine in the flesh. “I’m sorry I have seem to have fallen in love with your spot here. I’ve seen you here many times and found myself here, now. Would you mind if I stay for today?” 

“Of course not,” Diana rushed, “Please do. I can leave—”

“No please, stay. I would like some company.” 

“If I may ask, should you not be resting? Tomorrow are the Rites of Korr.” 

Leona's eyes danced as she tugged at her shoulder pad. “The Solari do say you are much more curious than other young scholars.” She said. Diana flushed pink but replied with silence. Leona’s smile turned bittersweet as she looked out towards the fields, “I will fail the Rites tomorrow.” 

Diana couldn't breathe. The petals pressed hard against throat and she bit her cheek until she could only taste copper, “If you refuse to fight, you will die.” 

Leona leaned forward, brushing back some of Diana’s hair. Her expression softened but Leona looked more tired than anything else. 

“You and I are not so different, are we?” 

It’s a confession but it means too many things. All of which hurt them more in the end.

☾

The sunflower in her chest feels larger after that. Love is not discussed openly. Warriors bare children when they please and scholars do as they will but hanahaki is always a sign of weakness for children of Mount Targon. Mount Targonians are sharp like their mountain. There is only shame in loving silently. The elders watch in disdain when the coughs turns worse and her skin begins to pale even more.

To rid the infection, they take it from her. Under the veil of the night and a subtle tonic for deep sleep, they remove the flower rooted in her chest. She wakes up with her mind clouded with confusion: tears streaming down endlessly and an empty chest. The moon shines brighter against the sky with her sobs.

_Child,_ the moon whispers. _Let me take away your pain._

She kills them all. 

Years later, there's a tickle in her throat again. She coughs up a swab of saliva and fire lily petals. It would kill her faster than a simple flower if she were human. Poisoned to the roots. But the Moon choose her, so Diana no longer holds the petals to her chest. She crushes it in her fist instead.

Diana doesn't remember why it hurts so much. 

☀

The cereus flowers were a memory now but once, they were an old friend. An old love that never bore fruit. Leona has mourned for years now. The Solari slaughter and the rites of Korr all fade into nothing but memories too. The light of the sun had forced her flower into a small bulb. It brings her no more pain. They sit in her chest, waiting. There were no more petals scraping her throat on the way out, with spindles and sharp edges, and she can't help but miss it. She wonders if Diana's flowers still linger as well. 

One day, Diana will be the end of her as Leona will be hers.

Either by their swords or the wretched flowers trapped between their lungs. 

**Author's Note:**

> Ya'll - I didn't know that Fire Lilies and Cereus flowers are poisonous.


End file.
